Vice Chancellor David Williams has announced three personnel matters that will have an immediate impact upon Vanderbilt Athletics.

Steven Keith, Greg Allen and Mark Carter

Steven Keith will become head women's track and field coach in addition to his existing duties as head coach of men's and women's cross country; women's golf coach Greg Allen has signed a five-year contract extension and Mark Carter has been promoted to Associate Director of Student Athletics, Executive Director of the National Commodore Club and Athletics Development.

"This is very good news for Vanderbilt Athletics," Williams said. "Both Steven Keith and Greg Allen have demonstrated their ability to advance their programs over a period of time and in Mark Carter we believe we have one of the best young athletic fund-raisers in the nation."

Keith has directed Vanderbilt's men's and women's cross country teams the past five years. His women's team had its best year in 2010, placing third at the SEC Championship - the program's highest finish ever. The women were also third at the NCAA South Regional and for the first time in 13 years, the Commodores had a representative at the NCAA Championship meet.

Keith was previously the head cross country coach at Alabama. He replaces D'Andre Hill, who resigned and plans to move to Japan where her husband is employed.

Greg Allen's women's golf teams have had back-to-back Top 10 finishes at the NCAA Championship, a program first. A veteran coach who came to Vanderbilt after seven years as the head coach at Arizona, Allen is regarded as one of the best recruiters and mentors in the game. One of his prize pupils, Marina Alex, was the 2010 SEC champion Vanderbilt's Athlete of the Year. He has been at Vanderbilt for four years.

Carter has a well-rounded development background, coming to Vanderbilt in March, 2010 from a six-year tenure with Duke University, where he was the Director of Major Gifts for Athletics. As Vanderbilt's Director of Athletic Development and National Commodore Club, Carter helped orchestrate the NCC's best performance in 13 years during the 2010-11 fiscal year.

A former college baseball letterman, Carter succeeds Christy Passmore, who resigned effective July 1.

VUcommodores.com will feature follow-up articles in upcoming days that elaborate on each of these significant appointments.